


Guardians

by Filliam



Category: Dames and Dragons (Podcast)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-20
Updated: 2017-12-20
Packaged: 2019-02-17 12:54:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13077303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Filliam/pseuds/Filliam
Summary: Moments of respite between a teenage Goddess and her friends."It’s a rare moment of reprieve where Laika gets to doff her armor and let her hair down, her beaten, stained gray gambeson less regal but more comfortable than heavy chainmail. She doesn’t mind how her long, dark hair gets entangled in her horns as she’s slouched lazily under the shade of a great oak tree."





	Guardians

**Author's Note:**

> I want to write Maeri interacting with all of her guardians eventually so this will be a three-parter, probably. It’s my first time writing for these characters so I hope they don’t come off as overtly OOC. I kinda only remembered that Laika doesn’t know Maeri’s sign language too well in the middle of writing it (oops) so sorry if that aspect seems wonky. My writing is really rusty so hopefully the next chapters will be somewhat better.

The smell of smoke follows them long after the battle is over. It sticks to their hairs and their clothes and burrows itself in their minds. Burnt man flesh is an odor that’s easier to wash than to forget, Fran soon realizes; after the fourth time she’s rinsed herself off, she notices she’s not sensing the smell, but reminiscing.

It’s been a long march since the fall of the temple of Iol. Dozens of tieflings with fractured limbs and broken wings trek along in the large pack of wounded soldiers, seasoned veterans following the steps of four insolent teens.

As the hours pass, Maeri feels the eyes of her guardians drilling into the back of her skull, senses their disappointment, their anger, their broken expectations weighting on her shoulders. She feels unworthy of looking at them in the eyes after what she’s done. Her walk is peppered with an uncharacteristically ungraceful shaking as she unconsciously tries to distance herself from them, her scurrying brought to a halt as she feels something tug at her cape.

Turning around, she’s greeted by Corbin’s dark eyes, his brows knitted in worry. As she turns the others, she sees their eyes warm not with scorn, but with care.

“Maeri?”

“Crazy Maeri, you’re heading too far from the group! We already had enough excitement for today,” Fran says, teasing.

Laika simply steps towards the goddess silently, an armored hand draping over the shorter girl’s shoulder. “Maeri, c’mon.” Maeri casts her head down again, this time to hide surfacing tears of guilty relief.

_They’re still willing to stay by my side._

They continue on marching, the four of them, together.

 

*

*

*

 

The sun descends at an agonizingly slow pace, but it descends nonetheless. With the lowered visibility brought by the settling night and the piling fatigue of hours of walking, the troop decides to stop and rest at the breezy field past the mountain until dawn.

It’s a rare moment of reprieve where Laika gets to doff her armor and let her hair down, her beaten, stained gray gambeson less regal but more comfortable than heavy chainmail. She doesn’t mind how her long, dark hair gets entangled in her horns as she’s slouched lazily under the shade of a great oak tree, the thick, grizzly fur of a gigantic wolf chafing against her skin. She scratches Zarun’s neck, commending her grandpa for his bravery back at the temple, sending his tail into a frantically lethargic wagging only a wolf his age can produce. He trots away as Gingie beckons him to join her in hunting something in the nearby woods, leaving Laika by herself.

Shortly after, Laika sees a short figure climbing the hill.

It greets the girl lying down with a sheepish, nervous wave, and Laika responds in kind.

“Hey, Maeri.”

Maeri approaches Laika and sits by her side, perhaps more awkwardly than intended; she avoids looking into her eyes and kicks the grass before sitting - she doesn’t know why she does that - and knocks her head against the tree trunk as she lowers herself down. Laika shoots her a look as if to ask “did that hurt,” and Maeri shoots a string of hand signals so chaotic amidst her nervousness she could as well just be flapping her hands

Maeri raises her hand again after her hand flourish, but keeps it still for a moment. Laika stares at her, expectant but calm. Even bloodstained and sunken-eyed, Laika has a gentle aura about her; _something about the spark in her eyes_ , Maeri thinks to herself.

There’s a couple of seconds of silence as her hands don’t say anything. She trembles for a second before gesturing. _I wanted to talk to you,_ she signs _, about... back at the temple._ Laika nods, and Maeri’s hands weave intricate patterns through the air.

_Back then, Corbin warned me that you were in danger, that you could -_ her motions halt for a second, and she looks pained, _\- that you could die. And I went ahead and ran anyway._

Her toes clawed at the damp soil beneath them, Maeri’s nails caking with dirt as she fidgeted around with her hands before resuming.

_I- I don’t want you to think that is because I don’t care. I’m sorry, so so sorry, and I’m so glad you’re alive but that doesn’t change the fact you might have not made and I ran away and--_

Laika squinted, trying to parse out the quick hand gestures like she was speed reading. She’s been getting better at understanding some of the signs composing the Goddess’ elocution after a certain time under Corbin’s tutelage (a surprisingly good tutor, really), but it was still like trying to read faded text. She seemed to get the gist of what Maeri meant, though.

“I was pretty mad at you back at the temple, not gonna lie,” Laika interjects, and Maeri bites her lip so hard it hurts.

“But I already gave you an earful about that. Listen, we- we need each other, Maeri. Me, Fran, Corbin, we can’t do this without you, and I get you can’t do this without us.”

Maeri raises a hand and prepares to sign, _I know, I know, I’m sorry, so sorry_ \--

“But I guess that that’s scary, like, being a God and all that, and you were going through a lot. So when I tell you that you have to do better, I ain’t just talking about doing stuff for us. I’m talking about _trusting_ us.” Laika sets a palm over Maeri’s shoulder. “Trusting us to carry this burden with you, and stuff.”

Perhaps Laika realizes how mushy she’s sounding, because she averts her gaze abruptly, glad her face can’t grow any redder due to her carmine complexion.

“I mean, that’s my duty after all.”

This awkwardness reminds her of their first meeting, how she freaked out seeing Maeri’s godly figure before her then. She doesn’t see her as such an imposing figure now - she’s grown too familiar for that, - but the fact she still finds her looks to be smiting remains the same.

Maeri can’t help but chuckle at Laika’s unexpected bashfulness, and she squints away tears that welled up in her eyes without her notice. _Your duty as my guardian?_ She signs. _I told you don’t have to worry about that anymore._

Laika needs a few moments to process Maeri’s hand motions again before replying. She looks pensive before saying, “I mean as your friend.”

Maeri couldn’t understand it - Laika’s kindness, or any of her guardians’, for that matter. Their patience with her seemed to be infinite. At that moment, Maeri, too, was glad her skin tone doesn’t give away her face might have grown a bit hotter.

The much-taller girl extends her hand. It takes Maeri a moment to understand as she releases a gentle gasp of “oh, got it!” and performs the super cool handshake they came up with together in what feels like ages ago. A goofy grin tugs at both of their faces.

_I’m really glad that you’re alive,_ she signs.

“Trust me, I’m glad I’m alive too,” Laika quips, and the Goddess smiles even warmer this time.

They spend a while admiring the view of such a beautiful place after witnessing so much destruction - the soothing breeze, the rustle of emerald leaves, the pair of huge wolves running close to the river’s margin. It helped remember they were fighting to keep places like this from suffering the same fate Iol did.

Fatigue eventually takes the best of Laika and she dozes off on the prickly grass. Maeri smiles at her, and gently waves her goodbye before going back to the injured.

She signs to Laika, even though she’s sure she couldn’t see it.

_Rest well, Laika._


End file.
